The money, Biden-era federal funds for sheltering migrants, disappeared from a city bank account without warning. New York wants it back.
The money, Biden-era federal funds for sheltering migrants, disappeared from a city bank account without warning. New York wants it back.
It seemed like a plot point in some fictional hacking scheme: Nearly $80.5 million had gone missing from one of New York City’s bank accounts overnight.
The startling discovery by the city’s accountants last week was not a product of Hollywood but the Trump administration’s abrupt clawback of Biden-era federal funds meant to help the city shelter migrants.
On Friday, the city suedthe Trump administration in an attempt to recoup the money, describing the clawback as an unlawful “money grab” of congressionally appropriated funds that had been allocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, said the withdrawal had happened “without notice or process of any kind.” It was, the city said, “simply put, lawless.”
The lawsuit escalated the tit-for-tat between New York and the Trump administration after Elon Musk drew attention to the migrant shelter funding in a social media post, resurfacing the debate over using taxpayer money on migrants. It also marked the first legal battle between the city and PresidentTrump as the president expands his campaign to circumvent Congress to freeze and take back money from federal programs he opposes.
By taking a legal stand, Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, also seemed to defy concerns, however briefly, that he would not stand up to Mr. Trump. The mayor has been accused of entering into a corrupt agreement to help the Trump administration in exchange for the dismissal of federal corruption charges against him.
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